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So I finally got one of these iPhone things - it's not actually an iPhone, but an iPod Touch (I have no need of another phone, but I wanted the ability to use apps and have a portable media device). I hate to say that I'm impressed.... I've never been anti-Apple, but being a nerdy gamer, I've just always used Windows-based systems because of the custom-built hardware option and the availability of games. I bought an iPod Classic a few years ago because I wanted something to store all my music (one of my passions!) and have an intutive interface and have also been very happy with it.

I've found two especially good health and fitness-related apps, so these are the subject of today's post:

The first is Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock. The premise of the app is that it uses the accelerometer(s) in the iPhone or iPod Touch to monitor your movements while you sleep (you place the device on your mattress). Knowing how the movements of your body correspond to different sleep …

So, the cut continues to go well and, despite being away working in Germany for the week, the combination of LeanGains (i.e. not eating during the day and just having all my day's food in the evening) and reasonable food choices (All-you-can-eat Sushi at Sushi Am Ring!), I lost about 2 lb. This is a little more than I would like and I need to be careful not to lose too fast, but I was concerned that I would over-eat. Obviously not! I made sure that I filled up as much as possible on wakame seaweed salad and sashimi, but I didn't particularly hold back when it came to my personal favourites, salmon nigiri and tuna maki!

Anyway, today's post is about the somewhat infamous Protein Fluff. I'll be using this as my pudding of choice for the next weeks / months of reducing body fat while retaining lean tissue. I ordered a whole lot of different flavours of protein from MyProtein, opting for the Milk Protein Smooth because this had the biggest range of flavours and, more impo…

Now that I'm cutting, and enjoying the new challenge of maintaining my strength while reducing calories, I can look back on my second "bulk".
As you know, I'm a small guy and not taking steroids. Therefore the rate at which I can gain muscle is going to be fairly slow. I'm confident that this is a reasonable real-world example of a typical rate of muscle gain however, so let's take a look.

This is the graph of my bodyweight over the course of my second bulking phase. As you can see, I started at the beginning of May 2011, weighing 120 lb. I stopped at the end of Feb 2012, weighing 140 lb. I was reasonably lean when I started. See my previous post.

Some points I want to stress:

This was real-world. I have a full-time job and all the usual stuff to worry about.I was lifting twice per week (roughly each muscle group every 4 days, which seems to be optimal for naturals). Lyle McDonald reckons every fifth day, although he tends to split muscle groups up more - sin…

I'm truly into my cut now (i.e. reducing body fat while maintaining strength and muscle). I had to buy in some extra goodies to meet my nutrient requirements, the fundamentals of which are as follows:

Lower calories approx. 10% per week until I achieve a steady 1 lb per week loss.Increaseprotein intake to around 1.5g per lb of body weight.Maintain intake of essential fatty acids e.g. Omega 3 fish oil tablets (6 daily) and hemp oil (10 ml daily).
As you probably know, I eat all my food in the evenings for the following reasons:

Preparing meals to meet specific calorie and protein targets is annoying enough as it is. It's so much easier to do this once I'm home from work, rather than prepare things to carry with me in the day! Changing your body takes work, there's no denying that, but I like to make it have as little impact on my life as possible. Eating all your food in the evening also helps with social occasions.There is lots of evidence to show that fasting for 12 ho…

Ever since I got my health and my wealth under control, I've been a lot happier and more relaxed.
I have a passion for learning, understanding and applying this knowledge to the real world. When I encounter a problem, I like to solve it using logic and morals and share what I've learned with others.
I have a degree in Biochemistry; qualified as level 2 Fitness Instructor (working towards level 3); taking a part-time evidence-based nutrition course and hold multiple local drug-free powerlifting records.
I have more than quadrupled my net worth since 2009 by using simple methods such as reducing my spending, increasing my savings and investing in appreciating assets.

About PoundCounter

Frustrated with the confusing information out there about health and personal finance?If there's one thing that most diet companies and banks are all too eager to help you lose, it's the pounds in your pocket rather than the pounds on your waist.I aim to provide the tools and information to help with both.